Sorcerer Manual - Chapter 39

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“What do you take me for? A call girl at your beck and call?”

Sword Maiden crossed her arms and raised her chin. “Do I need to report to you where I am? Do I need to write an application for you when I go to the toilet?”

“I don’t mind, but do you need to go to the toilet too? Do you prefer a squatting toilet or a sitting toilet?”

“I’m not talking about the toilet!”

Sword Maiden stood up suddenly and moved closer to Ash, who backed away from her piercing glare until his back was against the wall. Sword Maiden stared at him intently, pressing a finger to his collarbone.

“Although you promised to respect me before, you don’t seem to think that way. You still think that I’m just an illusion formed by a stream of data, that I’m a paper figurine born because of you, so it’s only right that I serve you… Even though I’ve been communicating with you for so long, even though I’ve adventured in the Illusory Realm with you, you still haven’t changed your… condescension towards me.”

Ash didn’t argue, and he couldn’t.

Sword Maiden was not asking him. She was stating.

Under the premise that Sword Maiden could hear his thoughts, all lies were meaningless.

“I can’t change what you’re thinking. I just need you to remember one thing—I’m a person too.”

Sword Maiden enunciated each word clearly, “I have my own life, my own hobbies, my own pursuits, and my own world that I live in… You are not everything in my life. You are just an accident in my life. Even without you, I can still live a good life in a place you don’t know about. Do you understand?”

“If I help you, you should thank me. If I don’t help you, you can’t blame me. Do you understand?”

“I understand. Thank you for your help all this time, Mommy Sword Maiden!”

“Don’t call me that!” Sword Maiden poked Ash’s forehead forcefully. “Who wants to be called Mommy at such a young age!”

“Who said that? I don’t mind you calling me Daddy…”

Seeing that the Sword Maiden was about to poke him with her finger again, Ash quickly changed the topic. “Then, Sword Maiden, can you tell me what interesting things you encountered today?”

Sword Maiden sat back on the bed and looked at the cup of water on the table beside her. She fell into a long silence.

Just when Ash thought she didn’t want to reveal her whereabouts to a stinking man, she spoke again.

“This morning, I showed off the Rapid Flow Spell Spirit at the entrance of the Pavilion of Meditation. In the end, by the afternoon, the whole school knew that I obtained a Rapid Flow Spell Spirit from the Illusory Realm. Heh, even that arrogant dorm mate of mine abased herself and asked me if I wanted to sell the Rapid Flow Spell Spirit…”

“Does that mean you had a great day?”

“Boring!” Sword Maiden rolled her eyes at him. “What is this bit of superficial vanity worth being happy about? What are the praises and jealousy of those strangers worth being concerned over? Only a girl in her teens would get complacent.”

But I remember you’re in your teens… As soon as this thought appeared in his mind,Sword Maiden glared at him fiercely.

Great, I can’t even say that you’re young? Sword Maiden really is strict.

“The air in the single men’s dormitory is so foul. I’m leaving.”

“Apologize to that air purifier hanging on the ceiling! Immediately! Immediately!” Ash was on the verge of roaring. “And I haven’t done anything for the past two days. I’ve been exploring the Illusory Realm with you at night, how could the air be foul!?”

“Maybe it’s because you’re breathing, or maybe your heartbeat is too strong.”

Ash decided not to argue with her. “Shall we continue exploring the Illusory Realm tonight?”

“Of course.” Sword Maiden paused for a moment. “Unless it’s a special matter, I won’t usually appear. If there’s anything you want to discuss with me, you can tell me when you reach the Illusory Realm. Nights in the Illusory Realm is the shared leisure time for us.”

Ash naturally had no objections to this. Or rather, when Sword Maiden reiterated her human rights and freedom just now, he had vaguely expected that she would not continue to provide 24-hour personal service.

“Then if something happens to me and I must look for you urgently, will you appear?”

“Didn’t I tell you? You’re not everything in my life.”

Hearing this, Ash nodded, indicating that he understood. He turned his head and looked elsewhere.

“But you are an accident in my life.” Sword Maiden glanced at him. “If something really happens to you, I will appear as soon as possible—and rush to the scene to mock you.”

“So don’t expect me to appear and chat with you when you’re feeling lonely. I don’t provide such services.”

“I’m a mature member of society. I won’t get lonely.”

Ash retorted while patting his chest. Yet, the joy in his eyes could hardly be concealed.

Ha, what a joke…

The Terminus Observer of this time was actually afraid of loneliness, afraid of the unfamiliar prison, and even treated me as a lifesaver. He would grow fearful after not seeing me for a day, like a child…

So he wasn’t born that way…

However, it’s fortunate that his brain wasn’t working too well in this time. I had thought it would be very difficult to hide this from him…

Many thoughts flashed through Sword Maiden’s mind. Then, she disappeared from the dormitory and returned to where she should return.

…

…

Astra Nation, training hall.

“Sonia, you can still walk, right?”

Ingrit looked at Sonia, who was about to melt into the ground. She tried her best to help Sonia up to no avail. Ingrit herself was exhausted from the training.

“No, I don’t have any strength left in my legs. I’ll rest first…”

The two girls sat down on the grass by the side of the road and panted heavily while holding onto their sword bags.

“Achoo!”

“What is it?”

“My undergarments are soaked through.” Sonia hooked a hand around her collar to cool off. “It’s a little cold when the wind blows…”

“Hehe, I recommend you to buy a sports bra of the Fiesta brand. It dries fast and is well-ventilated.”

“Really? Let me see.”

After discussing the lingerie selection for a while, Ingrit exhaled a breath of hot air. She opened the water bottle she brought and realized that she had finished it. She turned to Sonia and asked, “Sonia, where’s your water bottle?”

“What water bottle?”

“Do you never bring a water bottle when you train?”

“I… I always come here just with the sword bag. I forgot to bring water.”

Sonia couldn’t help but gulp at Ingrit’s suggestion. She felt her lips were really dry. “Do you have any more water?”

“No more! …There’s probably still one or two drops left?”

Ingrit raised her head and waited for a few seconds before a drop of liquid fell from the water bottle. She licked her lips and exclaimed, “Why is this water so sweet?”

“Let me try a little too!”

Sonia also poured a drop of water into her mouth like Ingrit and let out a melodious sigh. “How is this water? This is a precious brew that even wine from palace banquets cannot compare to!”

“Have you ever had wine from palace banquets?”

“Never, but doesn’t that make me sound very impressive?”

“I’ve had it before!” Ingrid giggled. “My father had a bottle of wine that he kept in the basement and never opened. He said that it was the wine that Her Majesty the Empress bestowed upon him when he participated in the palace banquet years ago… When I was young, I was very curious, so I sneaked to the basement to take a sip. In order to avoid being discovered by my father, I even added water into the bottle. In the end, I was still discovered. That was the worst beating my father ever gave me since I was young.”

“How were you discovered?”

“My footprints were too small. As soon as Father entered the basement, he saw my footprints extending all the way to where the bottle was placed.”

“How did it taste?”

“I forgot, but it probably tasted terrible. If it was good, I wouldn’t have mixed it with water. I’d have changed the entire bottle of wine to water.”

“Hahaha, you were so naughty when you were little.”

“Of course. I used to beat all the boys in town when I was a kid.” Ingrit lifted her chin proudly and touched her sword bag. “I can do the same now.”

Above them was the starry sky, and below them was the green lawn. In front of them were students who came to and left the training ground. However, the two girls just sat there, hugging their legs and resting while chatting. When they talked about a happy topic, they would even laugh as if there was no one else around, letting the sweat post their training trail down their faces into the earth.

The roar of an engine could be heard not far away. A premium silver car slowly crossed the school road and stopped in front of them.

“Want a ride?” Felix asked calmly, sticking his head out. “It’s a small matter for me.”

Ingrit shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Walking back can effectively ease fatigue in the legs. And we’re all sweaty. We wouldn’t want to dirty your car.”

“Didn’t Senior Celia pick you up tonight?” Sonia asked instead.

“We broke up.”

“Oh…” The two of them didn’t know how to react, so they could only say ‘oh’.

Felix said nothing and drove away.

Watching the silver car drive away, Ingrit stood up and said, “Are you done resting? It’s time to go back. The water pressure in the bathroom is low after 10 PM, so there won’t be any water for you to shower later.”

“You can go back. I’m going straight to the Pavilion of Meditation.”

Ingrit was not surprised. “You want to avoid Louis? You haven’t decided what to do with the Rapid Flow Spell Spirit yet?”

“Yes.” Sonia sighed as well. “It’s not that I haven’t thought about it… I just want to exchange it for a sword spell spirit.”

When the news that Sonia had a Rapid Flow Spell Spirit spread, her dormmate Louis immediately went to her and asked if she could buy it. Louis did not intend to take advantage of her and even offered 120% of the market price. There was no way that Sonia could sell it at such a price on the school’s trading platform, so she would definitely not lose out by selling it to her.

If it were Sonia in the past, she would have sold it in a hurry. Then, she would hide in her bed at night and count the money until she laughed out loud, fantasizing about how she could make more money using this “huge sum” of money.

However, under the guidance of Professor Trozan, Sonia’s horizons were broadened. She deeply realized that spell spirits were the foundation of a sorcerer’s strength, and money could only be considered secondary resources that were the icing on the cake.

Therefore, she preferred to carry out the “spell spirit exchange” and use the Rapid Flow Spell Spirit to exchange for a sword spell spirit that she wanted, developing her strength so that she could better explore the Illusory Realm.

However, the “spell spirit exchange” was not always available. Ordinary spell spirits might be a simple affair, but precious ones like the Rapid Flow Spell Spirit naturally had to be exchanged for precious spirits among sword spell spirits. Even though Professor Trozan promised to help Sonia keep an eye out, he could not find a buyer for a while.

On one hand, it was Louis who could give a large sum of money at any time. On the other hand, it was a seller who had yet to appear. Sonia was also a little hesitant. She planned to hide for a few days and consider her options.

“Actually, you have a third option. Use it yourself.”

Sonia turned to find the Observer sitting beside her.

She suppressed the flash of joy in her heart and asked nonchalantly, [When did you come back?]

“Just as you were discussing underwear.”

[…]

“Don’t buy lingerie from that Fiesta brand. Fiesta specifically targets women of medium and small sizes. Given your size, I’d recommend the brand Doslin. The molding is very effective.”

[All right, I’m not going to discuss this with you..]